playing at home

because toys are overrated. 







Dried beans & homemade playdough.  These two things will keep her busy for awhile, and she even enjoys mixing them. ;]

I'm so inspired by pinterest and other mommy blogs to make new fun activities for Z to do.  I think my next project(s) will be sensory bins!  So many good ideas!

What do you do to keep your little one busy?

Today's Post is Brought to You By...

...the color blue.

Maybe I'm craving that crazy blue summer sky, maybe it's coincidental, but nevertheless, there seems to be a theme around here.





Ziva and I got a little set of Piggy Paint.  Such fun for her, and so much peace of mind for me! (Knowing it's non-toxic/eco-friendly!)  She was so sweet showing off her nails to everyone she saw and I sometimes catch her just holding her hands out in front of her looking and smiling. <3 You can see that it's already chipping (we painted yesterday afternoon) but that's okay.  I only did one coat.  Oh yeah and you can now buy Piggy Paint at Walmart in little 2 or 3 packs - that's what we did.





(More about that knitting and yarn tomorrow!)

{this moment}

{this moment} - A Friday ritual. A single photo - no words - capturing a moment from the week. A simple, special, extraordinary moment. A moment I want to pause, savor and remember.
Inspired by: Soulemama

(Please excuse my phone pic!)

Simplifying Life: Toys

{This is what our living room looks like when Z is asleep. ;)}

Kids have toys. Most kids have so many toys that they don't even play with them all.

Ziva has her fair share of toys, and having her birthday a little over a month before Christmas it seems like she gets all her new toys at once! She has a very generous family, and we are so very thankful for all they give her, but sometimes the toy factor can be a little bit overwhelming when you're trying to keep a tidy house.

Last night I decided to sort out Ziva's toys to rotate. What this means is I chose a few toys and books to keep out in our living room and put the rest in a box in the closet. I'm planning on rotating out different toys weekly or biweekly, whatever feels right and replacing what's in the living room with a few things from the closet to try to renew her interest in them.

I also decided to move her toys from a basket, to a small bookshelf. This way she can easily see what she has there to play with and not just see a big overwhelming basketful of toys. With just a few things on the shelf, it's super easy for me to keep it looking neat and tidy, and to teach her how to keep it tidy as well!

{Top Shelf: Melissa & Doug Stacking Train, Plan Xylophone, stuffed animals.
Middle Shelf: Books, wooden puzzles.
Bottom Shelf: Drawstring bag, mini disc golf frisbee, old cell phone, balls, M&D alphabet blocks.}

I'm really excited about the fact that I'll be able to clean up the living room at the end of the day, and with hardly any effort it will look organized. There were times when the basket was overflowing with toys and books and stuffed animals, and even though everything was picked up, it looked anything but organized. I find it so much easier to relax with the hubs in the evening when my relaxing space is neat and tidy. =]

I'm already rebelling.

But that's okay. =]

So today is Wednesday. I said Wednesday would be WIP Wednesday. But guess what. I don't want to blog about a dishcloth.

So, here's what I made for snack this morning, kale chips! (Ps, I absolutely love this site.)







I baked ours for 7ish minutes, but I think I could've given them another minute or two. Or maybe some of the pieces should have been smaller. Either way they're tasty, just some pieces are less crispy and more chewy. I'd love to be able to buy organic kale at our local farmer's market - which is today, yay! - but I'm not sure if it's in season yet... haven't seen it there. Yay for healthy homemade snacks that we know are free of artifical colors, flavors and other yucky stuff!

**Update: Kale is in season in the fall/winter season...who knew!**